One of the biggest motorcycle events of the year, the EICMA Motorcycle Show, has been cancelled for 2020. The 78th edition of the motorcycle show was scheduled between November 3 to 8, 2020, in the halls of Fiera Milano, in Milan. However, the annual motorcycle show has been postponed to 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic. Italy has been one of the worst-affected countries by COVID-19 and the extended travel restrictions, as well as social distancing protocols, have made it difficult to host events that would warrant mass gatherings. The 78th edition of EICMA will now be held between November 9-14, 2021.
Also Read: 2020 Intermot Motorcycle Show Cancelled
It's been a long-standing tradition for KTM to unveil ts new motorcycles at EICMA every year
In a statement, Paolo Magri, Managing Director, EICMA said, "The value and international leadership of our exhibition-event have convinced us not to wager on the evolution of the health situation linked to the COVID-19 emergency and, above all, to listen to and protect the whole of the two-wheeler industry which, with Fiera Milano primarily and our partners, continues to see in EICMA a successful model and its most important opportunity for b2c and b2b at shows. Responsibility has been imposed on us and makes us act on a wide scale in the interest of the exhibitors and our visitors, postponing the 2020 show with a solid convergence of intentions."
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BMW Motorrad announced its exit from EICMA and Intermot in April this year
Over the years, EICMA along with the Intermot Motorcycle Show held in Germany has been one of the mainstay events for bike makers to unveil and showcase their product line-ups for global markets. A primary example is Austrian bike maker KTM that has continued the tradition of debuting its new and updated products at EICMA year-after-year. The recent years have also seen Indian giants including Royal Enfield and Hero MotoCorp unveil their future products at this global platform. However, with the unprecedented situation developed due to the pandemic, several manufacturers including KTM, BMW Motorrad among others had already announced their withdrawal from motor shows earlier this year.
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The Hero XPulse made its global debut as a concept at EICMA 2017
Not just EICMA, but the Intermot Show held in October every year and even Motorcycle Live held in November stand cancelled for 2020. The shows have been rescheduled to take place next year. While the cancellation will be a big disappointment for motorcycling enthusiasts, we expect a lot of these motorcycle unveils to now take place digitally around the same period. Most European bike makers are also expected to introduce their respective Euro5 compliant offerings around the same time, which makes the digital launches all the more important.
